Bright Stars Burning
by Cherpov
Summary: Modern!Trek, Thanksgiving AU. Jim Kirk hosts his annual Friends and Family get together: a Thanksgiving feast for all friends and family-of-friends. Cue the most awkward dinner party of the century. Chekov/Scotty. (warning for: discussion of death)


Demora Sulu was bored.

And this was not the kind of bored that could be easily fixed. This was not boredom that could be dissolved by distraction. Nor was the boredom that could be dispelled by productivity. No, this was the boredom inspired by being dragged to a family gathering (attendance required) and having no one to talk to (because really, who wants to discuss things with children?)

She was stuck watching little Joanna McCoy reading silently (yawn) and the little twins – Makena and Kamau – were attempting to throw popcorn pieces into each other's mouths (gross). Daddy and Papa were in the kitchen, laughing as they managed to maneuver Uncle Jim out of the kitchen (good, maybe they'd eat something edible then); Auntie Nyota was busy with Uncle Spock, trying to wrestle the dinnerware from Uncle Spock's parents (talk about awkward).

And there was nothing she could do to help. The only thing left to do was sit and wait.

Wait, because Uncle Pasha was supposed to be coming. And that meant someone who could tell her stories about space (much better than Daddy, though she wouldn't ever say so).

"So you're Demora, right?" Makena asked, sipping from her apple juice box. Apparently they had finished their popcorn war, and were now looking for conversation (the last thing she wanted to participate in). "What do your parents do?"

"My Daddy is a writer, and my Papa is an agronomist for the university," she said, in a tone both proud and detached, trying to aggrandize the whole thing. "What do your parents do?"

"Our daddy is a musician," Kamau told her in a tone that dared her to challenge the greatness of such a career. "And he doesn't play for any old orchestra – he plays for the _city symphony_."

"How about you?" Makena asked Joanna, pulling the young girl from her book. Her brow furrowed, as if she didn't quite understand why someone was interrupting her.

"What's your daddy do?" Kamau prompted, sipping on his own juice box as he waited for an answer.

"He's a doctor," she said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, turning back to her book without any acknowledgement for the rest of them. Makena and Kamau pouted, as if they'd hoped for something better.

Demora sighed dramatically. If she were at all lucky, Uncle Pasha would be arriving soon (though really, she's take anything to save her from this nightmare).

* * *

Scotty brought pie.

Not quite as good as sandwiches, but it was something. And he liked to think he'd done well in picking them out. There was a nice little shop by his flat that sold home baked pies, ones whose recipes had been passed down for generations and only existed in the minds of the handful of employees that helped make them. They had a wonderful pumpkin pie, fluffy like mousse, covered in maple whip cream and pecans – as well as a gingered apple, gingered pear pie with a honey glaze on its crust. He'd even splurged and took up a marionberry and hazelnut pie, a thick blend full of gooey goodness. They were classic pieces with a bit of quirk, which meant they were relatively safe but also fun. Jim hadn't mentioned food allergies, so he hoped it would go over well.

He hadn't invited anyone from his family to the shindig. They lived halfway across the world, with their own families and their own lives – work and spouses and children. No spare time for traveling nonsense. Not that he faulted them for it – after all, he would be visiting them for Christmas, and it was much easier for one person to travel than dozens. He rather envied them for having that idealized lifestyle that was meant to be the ultimate fulfillment in life. It was a concept he thought of often, but had never seemed to have time for. He supposed research sciences were like that: all of one's time dedicated to experimentation and exploration, and the paperwork that came with it.

And by the time he stopped to think about family and children, he felt like he'd missed the chance.

Fast forward a few years later, getting conned by a beautiful and brilliant Russian, finding out Pavel Andreievich Chekov was the greatest gift to humanity and suddenly – well, the impossible didn't seem so impossible after all.

Maybe, if all went well meeting Pavel's family, he could invite Pavel to meet his...

* * *

Pavel was nervous.

Thanksgiving was an incredibly _American_ holiday, so it wasn't something he'd ever really celebrated. He maybe participated once or twice, when Hikaru and Ben invited him over – if they decided to stay home instead of visiting family. It was rare, then, to even bother with the holiday.

And now, to suddenly be invited to a large party – to be told to invite his own family as well –

It was a bit nerve-wracking.

Especially since his father was coming to visit, so of course Pavel had told him to join, to get a taste of "real American culture". It was something his father had always been curious about, given not only his job as a cultural anthropologist, but also the fact that his only son had traveled halfway across the world to some strange, new land. The opportunity to participate in Jim's Thanksgiving party was one that would never be turned down. Pavel was just as excited, hoping to show off just how wonderful his friends were, to assure his father that all was well – that the choices he had made were good ones.

Only, friends included Scotty, who would no doubt show up. That tempered his excitement with apprehension.

He knew he was known as a bit of a flirt – something he'd inherited from his mother, apparently. She had been the one to pursue his father, and he had picked up her sly, conspiratorial ways. Pavel was much like her, always wooing the kids in his hometown, giving away flowers his mother grew and picked for him, taking them down to the beach-side to show off the constellations in the sky. He'd done it with the boys and the girls, and even some of his classmates that were neither and in-between, easily drawing in anyone and everyone. It had been a bit of a game, making people feel special, while balancing his interactions in a way that let them know it was never anything serious.

And that was also something his mother had known, and had discussed with him. He was always much more invested in working, in learning, in exploring – he was sure no one had really expected him to do much else in life. He himself hadn't really entertained the thought of going after others much, either. There had been a few people, here and there – Gaila, Aisya, even Kevin Riley. But he'd found he could never truly get away from his thoughts, thoughts that took up much of his time and energy. Gaila had understood, and they had ended their fling mutually – still good friends, even. Aisya had not been so sympathetic, flying into a rage when he had forgotten one too many events and rescheduled one too many dates. Kevin Riley had lasted longest, which made sense, considering they had insisted on keeping the relationship as open and fluid as possible – it had certainly made things interesting, but not sustainable in the long term.

Scotty was light-years ahead of them in terms of compatibility; Scotty was much the same as himself, devoted to his work. And their work was similar enough that it wasn't a subject that left one of them bored.

They got along amazingly well. And it wasn't just about their work ethic and dedication to their fields of study; even the parts that may have caused them to drift ended up complimenting well. Pavel was full of vibrant energy, and liked to be active; he usually ran with Nyota and Spock, and fenced with Hikaru – something that was unexpected given it was a uniquely niche sport. Scotty, on the other hand, was more into more sedentary sports – going out with Bones and Kirk to play darts or trivia, or arguing with Keenser over experimenting with their latest theories. And maybe that was the key: that they never gave _too_ much spare time with each other, because they had lives _outside_ of each other – lives that they understood to be important and meaningful – so every moment they did get together seemed all the more fresh and wonderful.

Maybe it was still a honeymoon phase, but on the other hand, Pavel couldn't really imagine things ever going too far downhill. When they ran out of things to talk about in their lives, there was always work. Which turned out to be a good thing: since they were both invested in science and stars, they were incredibly supportive of their discoveries and interests. And since it was a field that was always advancing with new things, there was always something new to talk about. When they didn't want to talk, or were too tired, there were plenty of junk sci-fi movies to pick apart, and plenty of books to read with each other. Sitting in silence was comforting – simply being and existing, not having to do anything else, it was a beautiful feeling. They had even had moments where they'd needed time alone, and managed to work it out – after all, it wasn't like they had lived together all their lives.

They had yet to have any major arguments, and Pavel knew that they weren't infallible to emotional outbursts. But given how well things had been going, he wasn't too worried about quarrels happening. He was confident that, if they stayed willing to invest in their relationship, they could make it work.

He only hoped his father would listen and understand, and not simply brush it off as something doomed from the start.

* * *

Andrei was a tall, gangly sort of man – much like his son in that regard, almost as wiry as the glasses perched upon his nose. But he walked with a quiet confidence, sure of himself in the same way Pavel was sure of his brilliance despite his young age. They were quite the pair, walking down the sidewalk with long strides, almost as if in their own little world with no mind for what was around them as they conversed quietly in rapid Russian.

They walked up to the door, tabling their earlier discussion. It had been pleasant, if a bit shallow – his father's move to Moscow, the differences between LA weather and Moscow weather, whether or not Pavel missed the snow. Pavel had wanted to mention Scotty at some point before arriving, but it was a bit too late for that. Instead, he handed off their plate of piroshky, stepping forward to knock.

A tall man opened the door, flashing a similar grin to that of Jim, if more polite and muted.

"Ah, you must be the Russian whiz kid. Come on in!" Pavel couldn't help but blush, though he made sure to remember his manners and thanked the man as he stepped inside.

"You must be Christopher Pike? Jim has spoken wery highly of you. This is my father, Andrei Nikolayevich Chekov."

"He's spoken highly of me, huh?" Pike laughed, directing them through the open entry room. "It's nice to meet you. They'll be waiting in the kitchen – kids are in the living room."

"Ah, you must meet Demora, Hikaru's daughter," Pavel mentioned, taking the plate of piroshky back. "She is a strong-willed girl – like Anya. You will like her."

They ducked left into the kitchen, where Hikaru and Ben were busy finishing up cooking, while Nyota and a stoic looking man were organizing the dishes and sending them out with Spock and an awkwardly cheerful looking woman, who were placing the platters of food upon a long table in the dining area.

"Pasha!" Nyota called warmly, making her way over and engulfing him in a hug. "It's good to see you. I'm glad you came."

"Thank you, Nyosha." Pavel grinned, releasing her from his arms. "This is my father, Andrei Nikolayevich Chekov."

"очень приятно," she greeted, extending her hand. Andrei shook her hand, nodding along.

"It is nice to meet you as well. Pasha has told me much about you. It is good to put a name to a face." Nyota smiled brilliantly, turning to the others in the room.

"This is Spock, and his mother Amanda, and his father Sarek." Sarek tipped his head, mustering a tight attempt at a smile. Unlike her husband, Amanda beamed, stepping forward as if she were gliding across the floor to offer her hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," she said gently, toning her expression down and standing straighter with poise and grace as Andrei shook her hand. "We were just about to break out appetizers. Would you care to join us?"

"Such hospitality," Andrei said, glancing back at Pavel with a raised eyebrow. "What can I do to help?"

Amanda whisked him away, chattering lightly at his side. Sarek followed them silently, as if unsure how to act without his wife. Spock and Nyota exchanged a look, Nyota sighing in relief.

"I think Hikaru ran off with Ben somewhere. Scotty's in the living room. They're reenacting some story about Greece. You should probably make sure they haven't gotten out of hand. We'll finish the cooking and set everything up in the dining room," she explained, ushering him out of the room.

* * *

He found himself looking out into a large, spacious room, watching as Makena and Kamau giggled loudly, falling away from the couch and rolling over themselves on the floor. Joanna had put her book down, watching over the tops of her knees as she curled up by the bookshelf. Even Demora was buying into it, leaning forward with rapt attention, head in her hands and elbows propped up on her knees. Pavel leaned against the doorframe, watching as Scotty gestured grandly and Jim acted out the scene. He was in the middle of telling some type of adventure story to the four children – something about an abandoned planet and the Greek god Apollo. Jim stood dramatically, hand outstretched and face stone serious as he directed his 'beloved children' to worship him. He had even draped a scarf around himself, another wrapped around his head, as if to imitate some awful toga and laurel crown costume. It was adorably amusing, to say the least – between Jim's horribly overdramatic acting and Scotty's exaggerated theatrics, they performed quite an entertaining show.

"And who is this?" Andrei slid up next to Pavel, a glass of wine in his hand.

"Our host is the one playing Apollo – James Kirk. He manages for Pike. And the narrator is Mitya – Montgomery Scott. He is an engineer at the uniwersity." Pavel grinned as Scotty encouraged Makena and Kamau to 'stun' the Greek God in an attempt to loosen the poor 'simple shepherdess' Demora from her enchantment.

"A fine storyteller as well, from the looks of it." A moments pause. "You love him."

Pavel frowned at his father's tone, gazing at him from the corner of his eye. He held his head high, and made sure to switch to a language none of the others could understand, on the off-chance that they overheard.

" _And what of it_?"

" _Are you sure he is good for you_?" At that, Pavel swiveled around, stalking back into the kitchen. Spock glanced up at their entry. He took one look at the dismally dark expression on Pavel's face, then quickly grabbed two dishes from the counter, shoving one of them at Nyota and herding her back into the dining room. She only caught a glance at them over his shoulder, but could see the grim face of her friend and hurriedly turned to the long table, busying herself with the placement of the other dishes.

" _I do not understand why you are so against it_ ," Pavel started defensively, turning to face his father. His shoulders pressed back, spine straightening. He was an adult, and he could make his own choices. And Scotty was not a choice he would come to regret, no matter his father's opinion.

" _Ah, Pasha, it is not that I am against it_." Andrei paused, gazing at his son. " _You remind me so much of your mother. She would have loved him. She loved a good story._ "

" _Then why -_ "

 _"Because a father does not wish to see his child upset_ ," Andrei interrupted quickly. " _He is older than you, Pasha - and you will experience loss far too soon._ "

 _"As you did, though Mama was not older than you. Life is newer guaranteed, Papa_."

" _Which worries me just as much. Why else would you go so well with him?_ "

" _I love him, and I do not want to waste my time in regret._ "

" _Ah, see, much like your mother._ " Andrei sighed deeply, a wistful smile tugging at the corners of his lips. " _It is better to live life for a full moment of joy -_ "

" _Then to have missed the opportunity, yes Papa._ " Pavel turned to the empty glasses on the counter, curling over them as he willed himself to fill them in an attempt to rid himself of how anxious he felt about how this discussion was going.

" _And that is why when he asks me for your hand I will permit it._ " Pavel's head shot up, looking at his father with wide, shocked eyes.

" _What makes you so sure -_ "

" _When you have gone through half your time here, Pasha, you do not waste what you have left._ " Andrei took a sip from his wine glass. " _So you make sure he asks me, so that I may impart on him tradition. That is all you have left, in the end. Do not let a poor man as myself without._ "

Pavel smiled, shoulders relaxing with relief.

" _Yes, Papa_."

* * *

At that moment Demora shuffled in, Scotty reluctantly following behind her. Both Russian men turned to look at them, and Scotty couldn't help but awkwardly run a hand through his hair, rubbing the back of his neck. He knew he was interrupting some kind of important conversation – a definite strike against him, and he hadn't even officially met Pavel's father yet. Wonderful.

"She's ah, looking for the apple juice?" Demora walked over to the refrigerator, not bothering with the kid friendly cider, but instead taking a simple juice box from the shelf. Pavel bit his lip, trying not to laugh, and Scotty held up his hands to give a bewildered look. Demora paid no attention, instead slumping back into the living room without a word. After a moment, Pavel huffed, not bothering to hide his grin.

"She likes you," he whispered conspiratorially. Scotty scrunched his nose.

"Nah. Lass would be out of her right mind. Though you – " He stopped, suddenly remember who else was in the room with them. "Ah. You must be Pa – Pavel's father."

"Andrei Nikolayevich Chekov," he introduced in a strict manner, trying to tower over Scotty as he shook his hand severely. "You must be Montgomery Scott. Pasha has mentioned that you work at the university. What is it that you do?"

"I, ah, I'm with the aerospace engineering department. Specifically on astronautics."

"Ah, Russian science. Astronautics were invented in Russia – but surely you know that. You have heard of Korolyov, yes? He put the first satellite into space – the first man in space, as well! A good man, very well accomplished. As I'm sure you are?" Andrei inquired, peering over his glasses.

"Yes, well, I – I have had a few papers published here and there –"

"Papa, stop harassing him. He is the man who negated Perera's Theory when I was applying for my emancipation. He is better than Korolyov and Keldysh combined, Papa."

"Now that might be goin a bit far, laddie – "

"You created the Aberdeen Solution, it is no small matter – "

"Children, children." Andrei held his hand up, stopping their babble at once. "Montgomery Scott."

Scotty straightened quickly, face deadly serious in the face of such a grave tone.

"Montgomery Scott," Andrei repeated, as if testing the name. "If my son is complimenting you, you should be thankful for his assurance in your abilities."

"Aye, sir." Andrei placed a hand on his mouth, crossing his other arm over his chest as he studied the man standing before him.

"If my son has such conviction in your abilities, you should not be doubting yourself. You should take pride in your work, if it is so trusted."

"Aye, sir."

"If my son is willing to stand by you, then I would hope you would be willing to stand by him. To do that, you must be unwavering."

"Aye, sir."

"Papa – " Pavel fell silent as his father stepped forward, scrutinizing every aspect he could.

"My son is gifted, as you well know. The one he choses should be no less inspiring, in their own way. You are brighter if you shine together. So I will ask again. My son aspires to be like the great men who have come before him. Are you as good of a man as they are?"

At that Scotty seemed to relax a bit, letting his shoulders fall back and his head tilt forward. The examination of himself was uncomfortable, but turning it to something about Pavel was easy. He had never been all too interested in bolstering himself up, preferring to keep to the background of things. But when put like that – well, if being secure in his own accomplishments was what would make Pavel shine, which, to be fair, made more sense then he had thought of – alright then, he wouldn't shy away from what he was capable of.

"Aye sir. I've had several papers published in my field, which have disproved previous theories and advanced the understandings of aeronautical engineering. I'm currently teaching a class on Relativistic Mechanics – moving objects in space, so to say – and I'm currently working with a group of students on how quantum gravity effects astronautical objects – ah, how small scale particles effect satellites, I suppose." There. That sounded like a decent answer.

The clock ticked on.

And finally, Andrei began to laugh, stretching out his hand.

"Welcome to the family, Mitya."

* * *

Andrei and Scotty had gone back into the living room to keep an eye on Jim and the children, hoping they hadn't gotten too rambunctious and broken things – including themselves. To make up for the time in which Nyota and Spock had been stuck in the dining room, Pavel offered to help move the rest of the dishes onto the table, taking the time to reconnect with both of them. Once that was finished, they found Bones, who insisted on roping everyone to congregate for an official welcoming.

After a few minutes, Jim and Bones had finished gathering everyone into the dining room and looked towards Pike. The chairs were still in place around the table, and the centerpiece turkey was still missing – a large empty space in the middle acting as an awkward void that offset the entire

"Now I don't know how many of you kids celebrate Thanksgiving, and I don't know what your traditions are about Thanksgiving. But generally, we like to go around and say something we're thankful for before we start snacking. Helps us get to know one another a little better, and helps us remember what his get together is all about. Makes it easier for us to socialize as we wait for the bird to finish cooking. If you'd rather pass feel free. Any objections?"

No one said anything, so Pike nodded firmly.

"Alright. We'll go in a circle – I'll start. I'm thankful for Jim not getting into too much trouble this year." Jim couldn't help but smirk, smacking a hand on the back of his surrogate fathers shoulder.

"Year isn't over yet, old man. Well. I'm thankful for all of you coming to join us this evening." Bones glowered at that, muttering under his breath that Jim had better not be planning to jump off any cliffs anytime soon.

"I'm thankful for Joanna." The little girl beamed, bouncing on the tips of her toes excitedly.

"I am thankful for family unity," Spock continued, nodding toward his parents. Amanda seemed pleased.

"I am thankful for the ones I love," she added, nudging Spock's hand with her own. Her siblings squirmed on the other side of her, wondering which should go first.

"I am thankful for Uncle Spock bringing us here," Kamau said. Makena frowned dramatically.

"I am thankful for Nyota for bringing us here," she corrected, bumping him with a glare.

"I am thankful for daddy," Joanna interrupted brightly, the picture of serenity.

"I am thankful for the gracious hospitality you have shown us." It was the first time Sarek had spoken, and at that moment they realized just where Spock had gotten his strict formality from. If that was Sarek's attempt at being casual, well – suddenly Spock seemed like a complete rebel by such standards.

"I am thankful for my family." Amanda entwined her fingers into her husband's hand, as if to make some subtle insistence that went beyond anyone else's understanding.

"I am thankful for Papa and Daddy and Uncle Pasha and the new friends I have made," Demora continued, her eyes flitting to Scotty before trailing back down to the tablecloth. Her parents smirked at him, seeing her newfound crush for what it was.

"I am thankful for my husband and my daughter," Hikaru started.

"Then I am thankful for Jim for inviting us over," Ben ended. There was a pause, all eyes turning to Andrei as he seemed to think hard on his own answer.

"I am thankful for my son, who is wise beyond his years." It was short and simple, but Pavel seemed to light up like the sun at such praise. He unconsciously vibrated with such approval, which carried over in his tone.

"I am thankful for my family, and to my friends who are now part of it," he answered with heartfelt conviction, head held high as he turned to Scotty, waiting for him to finish off their circle.

"And I'm thankful for all of you."

At that, the kids began to pick over the food, digging into the fruit and vegetable dishes. Makena grabbed a handful of carrots, and Kamau a handful of broccoli – heading back into the living room in hopes of another round of 'who can catch the most'. Nyota grabbed Spock, dragging him after them to ensure that they didn't make too much of a mess. Joanna snagged two biscuits, bringing one over to her father and realizing a moment too late that she had forgotten one for Jim – offering to split her own biscuit with him, before Bones insisted that he would split his own biscuit with Jim instead. Hikaru struck up a conversation with Andrei, and Ben seemed to be entertaining both Amanda and Sarek while Demora nibbled on cheese slices.

Noticing that everyone was busy enough, Pavel tugged on Scotty's elbow, leading him outside.

* * *

"Shall I tell you a secret?" Pavel asked, trying very hard to play up on a mysterious air, but coming off like an excited puppy as he twisted around in the middle of the yard, grinning wildly. Scotty followed after him, arms cross over his chest.

"Alright, go on then."

Pavel paused, staring up at the sky, smile fading.

"Ah. It is not wery good to say in such joy. Perhaps I should wait."

"Ach, waiting is a bit of a waste." Scotty walked toward him, placing his hands on Pavel's waist. "Well?"

Pavel smiled, teeth flashing in the fairy lights that hung around the porch.

"You sound like my Papa," he purred, wrapping his arms around Scotty's neck.

"Is that what you're angling for? Beastly thing you are."

Pavel laughed, placing a quick kiss upon Scotty's nose before darting away.

"No, I do not think so. At least not now." He turned back to the stars, clasping his hands behind his back. "My Mama died when I was 8."

It was a sharp turn in conversation that Scotty perhaps should have expected - heeded Pavel's warning - yet the contrast of what had led to that opening was so stark it was a bit jarring.

"She would always tell me to chase after the stars. To go after the impossible. It is much harder, she said, to simply wish and wonder and waste away. It is much better to try. A life without regret will get you far. If you shoot for the moon and fail, then at least you will be with the stars - that is what she would tell me."

"A wise woman."

"Hikaru once told me that I am like a blue star - I burn up so fast that I will explode before I am 30."

"Aye, you do tend to burn your candle at both ends."

"And sometimes I wonder if perhaps that is too true - that my time will be gone before anyone even realizes it. It is morbid, perhaps - but I look at what I accomplished and wonder just how much left there is for me to do." At that Scotty frowned, unsure as to where Pavel was going with his speech.

"Pasha -"

"My Mama died young, and sometimes I cannot help but wonder if it runs in the family."

There was a lull in conversation: Scotty debating whether asking the obvious was overstepping, and Pavel waiting patiently for him to do so.

"How did she die?"

"She and Papa woke up early, and she said she did not feel well. So Papa told her to go back to bed. He took me to school and made her breakfast. In that time her heart simply stopped. No reason - she was healthy as can be. But she was gone."

"I'm sorry you lost her." Pavel simply hummed.

"If I am to burn out, I wish to burn brightly. No regrets in life - just life well spent. And I would like for you to be one of the reasons I burned brightly."

"You sure don't do anything by half, do you?" Pavel merely shrugged, a soft smile twitching at the corners of his lips. There was much to be said of that small gesture, but it was innately understandable. "Well I suppose if you're all gung-ho about going supernova, I can get along with that."

Scotty wrapped an arm around his shoulders, leaning in to kiss his temple gently. Pavel's face split into a mischievous grin.

"In that case, Papa says you must be old-fashioned and speak to him before proposing."

Scotty sputtered, taken aback.

"Now see here lad, there's a fine jump -"

"There is plenty of time," Pavel assured sweetly, patting Scotty's cheek in a rather condescending manner.

"Oh, time enough for that, but not time enough for that heavy bout of conversation we just had?" Scotty grumbled.

"Of course, then." Pavel turned, pointing to the stars. "You can see them, yes? The stars shine, and I can enjoy their light. It would be nice to go up there and be among them, yes. But I do not need to be up there to enjoy them. I think it is much the same – we are together now, and we can enjoy it as it is. It would be nice to get married, because it is proof of what is here; but such things are not needed, not really. And in the end, not doing so would not diminish what is now."

Scotty stared up into the inky blackness. He supposed that was true: having a ring and a piece of paper were symbolic things, not necessarily things that would – or perhaps, should – change their relationship.

"Alright then laddie. I'm willing to bet we can go as bright as Sirius."

"Oh really?" Pavel inquired with a smirk, grabbing Scotty's hand and heading back inside. "That is a wery high standard you are setting."

"Aye, well, I'm not about to compete with the sun. But I'm thinking we can at least hit into the negatives."

* * *

"So what was that all about?" Bones grumbled as they slid back into the house, shutting the door behind them. Pavel drifted past them, allowing Scotty and Bones a moment to themselves for the answer. He understood the strange nature of their relationship, and probably had some inkling of how Scotty would teasingly answer – and how Bones would probably react. Pavel grabbed the pies from the kitchen counter, shouting excitingly for the group to join him in the dining area.

He was brilliant that way.

"Marriage," Scotty said dryly, pouring himself a glass of champagne. Bones choked on his own glass, alarmed.

"You've been dating this kid for just over a month and you're already shacking up?" he hissed. Scotty rolled his eyes.

"Course not, are you daft?" He took a sip, drawing out the moment. "But I could see it happening someday, maybe."

"You think you'll last that long?"

"Ach, such a pessimist. As if I didn't get enough of that with Pavel."

"You mean to tell me that damn ball of sunshine isn't oozing optimism everywhere?"

"It's that Russian culture."

"And you want to marry into that," Bones said wryly.

"Can't be any worse than marrying you." A beat, and then Bones grinned at the irony.

"Well, can't fault you for that." He drew in a deep breath, sighing heavily. "Don't know if I'll ever reach that point again, though. Hate to leave Jim hanging on, waiting."

"Lad had a wee bit of good advice on that," Scotty mentioned, filling their glasses once more. "Compared it to the stars – "

"Course he did."

"Hush now, let me finish. It's a good bit of philosophy." Scotty hummed, watching as Pavel flittered past the doorway, bringing Demora and Joanna plates with pie slices – laughing as Joanna swiped his cheek with a blot of whip cream. "Might be nice to be married, because it's something solid – a ring that works as a physical reminder of what you have. But it isn't necessary to keeping a relationship going. You and Jim – you're stable as it is, ring or no."

"Kid's smart as a whip," Bones mumbled, staring into his glass. His gaze drifted back upward, watching as Jim took over for Pavel, teasing Joanna and Demora about – something or other, the chatter was too unclear. But it was nice, to see them all so close – to see how a bunch of run amok crazy wild children could join together like this, to form some niche patchwork of a family. No matter what differences or challenges they had, they worked through it and loved each other anyway.

"Shall we head back in then?"

* * *

 _Alright I didn't actually realize that hey, places to post fanfic don't come with tags like Tumblr, so I've kind of missed out on author commentation for the last two fics I posted._

 _Anyway._

 _To start, the thing about burning into negatives: "the brighter an object appears, the lower the value of its magnitude, with the brightest objects reaching negative values. The Sun has an apparent magnitude of −27, the full moon −13, the brightest planet Venus measures −5, and Sirius, the brightest visible star in the night sky, is at −1.5." So it's a compliment to burn into negatives, not something worrisome!_

 _A few things: this started as me messing around with making cheesy gifset fics to be saved into my Tumblr drafts, and then started getting used when I set up a goal to push a Halloween Fic Bingo Card out into the world. And then I ended up getting ideas for other holiday fics throughout the year. So my goal now is to make at least one fic for these two for every holiday. I've got a total of 23 laid out so far - it's just a matter of actually solidifying snippets and building up outlines into actual fic._

 _And, not gonna lie, most of this is just headcanon based stuff I've been stringing together, trying to incorporate not only a love for cheesy plots and holiday tropes, but also in trying to mesh TOS and AOS characteristics to try and get a solid conceptualization for the characters as their TOS and AOS selves [like how AOS!Chekov started showing bits of TOS!Chekov flirtation, and does that correspond to AOS!Chekov also developing more sass? Given his lines with Kirk in Beyond, probably.]_

 _And lastly, much the same as to how I used to study Japanese in high school [as I'm sure plenty of people can remember from old anime-based fics back in the 2000s]: I've also been throwing a bit of Russian in here and there, because it's the language I'm currently working on learning. So most of it's random stuff from my textbook or class discussion that I feel can be made applicable. It's been helping me learn, so hopefully it's not too bad. And if it is and you know it, please feel free to correct me._

 _[Though on that note, the only accent I really give Chekov is under the headcanon that he has a speech impediment and can't pronounce v's properly. So it's the only thing I actively try and keep consistent - if I miss something, let me know!]_

 _Hopefully it's not too out there and this stuff is somewhat enjoyable to read [I know I get a kick out of typing it up]. At any rate, I know it's a relatively niche pairing, so fingers crossed any of you who do enjoy the ship are finding these fics at least cutesy enough to check out. Thanks!_


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